Dicastery for the Clergy

The Dicastery for the Clergy, formerly named Congregation for the Clergy (; formerly the Sacred Congregation for the Clergy and Sacred Congregation of the Council), is the dicastery of the Roman Curia responsible for overseeing matters regarding priests and deacons not belonging to religious orders. The Congregation for the Clergy handles requests for dispensation from active priestly ministry, as well as the legislation governing presbyteral councils and other organisations of priests around the world. The Congregation does not deal with clerical sexual abuse cases, as those are handled exclusively by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.

History

Sacred Congregation of the Council What is now the Dicastery for the Clergy was first set up as the by Pope Pius IV in the apostolic constitution Alias Nos of 2 August 1564 to oversee the proper application and observation of the disciplinary decrees of the Council of Trent throughout the Catholic Church. This body was commonly known as the Sacred Congregation of the Council. Cardinal Charles Borromeo was named at the first prefect of the Congregation.

Pope Sixtus V's Apostolic Constitution Immensa aeterni Dei of 22 January 1587 expanded the Congregation's functions, entrusting it with the proper interpretation of the canons of the Council of Trent, resolving controversial questions relating to it, and monitoring provincial councils.

Later developments The Sacred Congregation of the Council lost many of its powers, retaining only those relating to disciplining secular clergy, but still held onto its original name until Pope Paul VI's apostolic constitution Regimini Ecclesiae Universae of 31 December 1967 renamed it as the "Congregation for the Clergy".

By 2009, Pope Benedict XVI made the Congregation responsible for managing the guidelines concerning clergy who maintained their clerical status after violating their vows of celibacy. On 25 January 2012, Pope Benedict XVI gave it responsibility for regulating Catholic seminaries, which until then were the responsibility of the Congregation for Catholic Education.

In January 2013, the motu proprio Fides per doctrinam transferred the competency on catechesis from the Congregation for the Clergy to the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelisation.

In February 2019, Cardinal Beniamino Stella, Prefect of the Congregation, said that the Congregation manages the cases of priests who violate their vows of celibacy for approximately ten years. He said that "In such cases there are, unfortunately, Bishops and Superiors who think that, after having provided economically for the children, or after having transferred the priest, the cleric could continue to exercise the ministry." In February 2020, the Congregation made public its guidelines for managing cases of priests who have fathered children. The guidelines were previously secret, though in 2019 the Congregation offered to provide then to a bishops conference upon request.

On 3 June 2021, Pope Francis tasked Egidio Miragoli, Bishop of Mondovì, with conducting a review of the Congregation in anticipation of the replacement of its prefect in August. He expected it would take at least the month of June to complete.

Leadership

Since 2 August 2021, the prefect of the Congregation has been Archbishop Lazarus You Heung-sik. The secretary of the Congregation has been the Archbishop Carlo Roberto Maria Redaelli since January 2026. In February 2022, Simone Renna was named under secretary.

Prefects No. Name From Until Appointer1 Carlo Borromeo15641565Pius IV2 Francesco Alciati156515803 Filippo Boncompagni15801586Gregory XIII4 Antonio Carafa15861591Sixtus V5 Girolamo Mattei159116036 Paolo Emilio Zacchia16041605Clement VIII7 Francesco Maria del Monte16061616Paul V8 Orazio Lancellotti16161620Paul V9 Roberto Ubaldini1621162310 Cosimo de Torres1623162611 Bonifazio BevilacquaAldobrandini16261627Urban VIII12 Fabrizio Verospi16271639Urban VIII13 Giambattista Pamphilj16391644Urban VIII14 Francesco Cenninide' Salamandri1644164515 Pier Luigi Carafa16451655Innocent X16 Francesco Paolucci1657166117 Giulio Cesare Sacchetti16611663Alexander VII18 Angelo Celsi16641671Alexander VII19 Paluzzo Paluzzi Altieridegli Albertoni16711672Clement X20 Vincenzo Maria Orsini, O.P.16731675Clement X21 Federico Baldeschi Colonna16751691Clement X22 Galeazzo Marescotti16921695Innocent XII23 Giuseppe Sacripante16961700Innocent XII24 Bandino Panciatichi1700171825 Pier Marcellino Corradini17181721Clement XI26 Curzio Origo1721173727 Antonio Saverio Gentili17371753Clement XII28 Mario Millini17531756Benedict XIV29 Giovanni Giacomo Millo17561757Benedict XIV30 Clemente Argenvilliers17571758Benedict XIV31 Ferdinando Maria de' Rossi17591775Clement XIII32 Carlo Vittorio Amedeo delle Lanze1775178433 Guglielmo Pallotta17851795Pius VI34 Tommaso Antici17951798Pius VI35 Filippo Carandini1800181036 Giulio Gabrielli18141820Pius VII37 Emmanuele De Gregorio18201834Pius VII38 Vincenzo Macchi18341841Gregory XVI39 Paolo Polidori18411847Gregory XVI40 Pietro Ostini18471849Pius IX41 Angelo Mai18511853Pius IX42 Antonio Maria Cagianode Azevedo18531860Pius IX43 Prospero Caterini 18601881Pius IX44 Lorenzo Nina18811885Leo XIII45 Luigi Serafini18851893Leo XIII46 Angelo Di Pietro18931902Leo XIII47 Vincenzo Vannutelli19021908Leo XIII48 Casimiro Gennari19081914Pius X49 Francesco di Paola Cassetta1914191950 Donato Raffaele Sbarretti19191930Benedict XV51 Giulio Serafini19301938Pius XI52 Luigi Maglione19381939Pius XI53 Francesco Marmaggi1939194954 Giuseppe Bruno19491954Pius XII55 Pietro Ciriaci19541966Pius XII56 Jean-Marie Villot1967196957 John Joseph Wright19691979Paul VI58 Silvio Oddi19791986John Paul II59 Antonio Innocenti19861991John Paul II60 José Tomás Sánchez19911996John Paul II61Darío Castrillón Hoyos19961998John Paul II1998200662 Cláudio Hummes20062010Benedict XVI63 Mauro Piacenza20102013Benedict XVI64 Beniamino Stella20132021Francis65 Lazarus You Heung-sik2021presentFrancis

Documents General Directory for Catechesis

References

External links